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Mississippi Bloodlines: The Ewing Boys

It happens at some point every Friday night in the fall. A player will make a big play and the crowd will cheer. When this happens, somewhere standing along the sideline fence of a Mississippi high school football field someone will say, "Reminds me of his dad" or "He gets it honest" or even "You think he's good, you should have seen his dad play".
You can just about bet those words will be mumbled this season at MRA as middle linebacker Cade Ewing, who transferred over from Madison Central, makes one bone crushing tackle after another.
Once upon a time, Cade's father, Justin, laced up his cleats for Sharkey-Issaquena Academy.
At the small private school in the Mississippi Delta, Justin, like many others on his team, rarely came off of the field. He played quarterback and linebacker and for those who played with him or against him or even had the chance to see him play will not be surprised at all to learn that his son Cade's favorite thing about football is that he gets to hit people.

Those that have been around the Mississippi gridiron for decades will be quick to tell you that Justin played in an era that required a level of toughness seldom seen in today's game. It's that old school toughness that makes Cade the dynamic player he is.

Cade Ewing is a ball hawk. The play ends when he reaches the ball carrier. He gets there fast and he arrives angry. He has the size and skillset to stuff the run at the line and cover sweeps from sideline to sideline.

Cade’s beast mentality mixed with his exceptional knowledge of the game place him near the top when compared with his peers. You can’t teach old school. Today’s players either have it or they don’t. Cade has it.

Justin Ewing's old high school ball coach, who has long since retired, had this to say about Ewing as a player.
"Justin Ewing was the best athlete I ever coached," said Pete Lewis, the former coach of 36 years. "He could do it all. He had the beast mentality to play middle linebacker and yet the offensive mind to play quarterback. He could shoot the three but also pound the boards. When he was on the track, it belonged to him. He could catch or play centerfield. Hit for power and average. Pure athlete."
Cade's mark on the game still remains to be seen but if he is anything like his father, chances are his head coach Herbert Davis will remember his name for a long, long time.
Just a reminder to the young players out there today... Consider a comparison to your old man one of the greatest compliments your game can ever receive.
**Please email your suggestions for our next Mississippi Bloodlines segment to sesmississippi@gmail.com